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DEDICATION 



SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, 



GORHAM, MAINE 



Tliursday, October 18tli, 18G6. 



ADDRESSES, POEM, AND OTHER EXERCISES. 



PORTLAND: 

PRESS OF B. THURSTON AND COMPANY. 

18G6. 






MONUMENT. 



The monument staiuls directly in front of the Town House. 
It is maile of Italian marhle, with die and shaft, the latter in 
obelisk form, and rests upon a substantial base of granite. The 
die has inscribed upon it the names of our deceased soldiers. 

The shaft is ornamented with military emblems, carved in 
relief, and the whole structure is surmounted by the American 
eagle. All the carving-, as well as the general finish of the 
monument, is very handsome and approjn'iate. 

The height of the column is twenty-four feet. The base 
block has the following inscri]»tion : 

ERECTED BY 

HON. TOPPAN ROBIE. 

€a tht ^cmorn of the Soits of dporbam fobo s;urifixci> ihdx liOcs for tljcir 

Counlrn iit iht great ^icbcllion of 1S61. 

18GG. 

The following inscriptions appear on the die in the onh^r: 

CAPTAIN AL^NION L. FOGG, 17tli Maine Rogiment, mortally wounded 
at Gettysburg, Pa., July 3d, 1863, died July 4tli, aged 24. 

CAPTAIX OLIVER H. LOWELL, Kith Maine Regiment, mortally wound- 
ed at Gettysl)urg, Pa., July l.st, 1863, died July 2(1, aged 33. 

CAPTAIN DANIEL M. PHILLIPS, 12tli INIaine Regiment, killed at Win- 
chester, Va., Sept. 19th, 1864, aged 28. 

CAPTAIN CHESTER B. SHAW, 9tli Maine Regiment, killed at Fort 
Wagner, S. C, July ISth, 1863, aged 25. 



LIEUTENANT GEORGE W. EDWARDS, 16th Maine Regiment, killed 
at Fredericksburg, Va., Dec. 13tli, 1862, aged 22. 

SERGEANT JOSEPH FILES, Jr., 32d IMaine Regiment, killed at 
Spottsylvania, Va., May 12th, 1864, aged 30. 

SERGEANT JOHN McPHEE, 16th Maine Regiment, killed at Peters- 
burg, Va., April 2d, 1865, aged 35. 

SERGEANT CHARLES H. PATRICK, 5th Maine Regiment, died at 
Washington, D. C, July 3d, 1864, aged 28. 

SERGEANT HORATIO F. SMITH, 31st Maine Regiment, died at Gor- 
ham, Aug. 28tli, 1864, aged 19. 

CORPORAL WILLIAM CANNELL, Jr., 16th Maine Regiment, killed 
at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1st, 1863, aged 30. 

CORPORAL SHIRLEY HARMON, Jr., 2d Maine Cavalry, died at Gor- 

ham, Oct. 28th, 1864, aged 18. 
CORPORAL BENJAMIN F. METCALF, 16th Maine Regiment, tiled at 

Gorham, June 24th, 1863, aged 20. 

CORPORAL HENRY H. NEWELL, 5th Maine Regiment, died at Alex- 
andria, Va., Nov. 28th, 1861, aged 21. 

CORPORAL ISIAHLON H. PARKER, 12th Maine Regiment, killed at 
Port Hudson, La., May 31st, 1863, aged 22. 

SERGEANT CYRUS M. HALL, 17th Maine Regiment, killed at Gettys- 
burg, Pa., July 3d, 1863, aged 22. 

SERGEANT WILLIAM H. JOHNSON, 9th Maine Regiment, died at 
Gorham, Feb. 15th, 1866, aged 44. 

CORPORAL MORRIS F. RUMPUS, 5th Maine Regiment, wounded at 
Spottsylvania, Va., May lOth, died May 12th, 1864, aged 29. 

CORPORAL JOHN F. HARDING, 16th Maine Regiment, wounded at 
Hatcher's Run, Va., Feb. 5th, died Feb. 21st, 1865, aged 22. 

CORPORAL DANIEL L. ROBERTS, 12th Maine Regiment, died at Ship 
Island, Miss., May 15th, 1862, aged 25. 

CORPORAL GEORGE S. REED, 5th Maine Regiment, tiled at West- 
brook, Me., April 27th, 1864, aged 48. 

CORPORAL CHARLES M. WARD, 5th IVLaine Regiment, killed at 
Spottsylvania, Va., May 12th, 1864, aged 23. 

ABRAM S. ANDREWS, 16th Maine Regiment, died in Libby Prison, 
Richmond, Va., Nov. 2d, 1863, aged 21. 

JAMES B. BROWN, 17th Maine Regiment, died at Frederick, Md., Aug, 
1st, 1863, aged 21. 

FREEMAN BROWN, 17th Maine Regiment, died at Baltimore, Md., April 
21st, 1865, aged 34, 



FRANKLIN H. BLAKE, lltli U. S. Infantry, woixiided at Spottsylvauia. 
Va., May 8th, died May <Jtli, 181)4, aged 20. 

GEORGE W. COONLEY, Baker's D. C. Cavalry, died at Augusta, Me., 
Marcli 1st, 18fi4, age«l 18. 

WILLIAM F. DUNN, 20tli Maine Regiment, died at Cape Elizal.cth, Me., 
April 14th, 18ri5, aged 19. 

PETER DLTFFEY, 5th Maine Regiment, killed at Petersburg, Va., June 
20th, 1864, aged 22. 

ORMOND L. DOUGLASS, 1st Calitornia Cavalry, killed at Fort Lara- 
mie, Kansas, October, 1864, aged 23. 

ALONZO S. ELDER, .5th Maine Regiment, wounded at Rappahannock, 
Va., Nov. 8th, died Nov. 10th, 1863, aged 23. 

ALBERT S. ESTES, 13th Mass. Regiment, killed at Manassas, Va., Aug. 
29th, 18(52, aged 25. 

EPHRAIM HICKS, 17th Maine Regiment, killed at Gettysburg, Pa., July 
2d, 1863, aged 21. 

JAMES E. HASKELL, 17th Maine Regiment, killed at Fredericksburg, 
Va., Dec. 1.3th, 1862, aged 20. 

JOSEPH D. HARMON, 5th Maine Regiment, killed at Gaines' Mills, Va., 
June 27th, 18(;2, aged 22. 

LEWIS LIBBY, 20th Maine Regiment, died at Philadelphia, I'a., July 
7tli, 1865, aged 20. 

SOLOMON MAINS, 10th IMaine Regiment, wounded at Antictam, Md., 
Sept. 17th, died Sept. 18th, 1862, aged 37. 

GEORGE H. MERRETT, 5th Maine Regiment, killed at St. Charles, Ark., 
June 13th, 1862, aged 22. 

WILLI^OI POWERS, 17th Maine Regiment, died at AVashingtou, D. C, 
Jan. 11th, 1863, aged 20. 

CH:^iRLES F. RIGGS, 6th JVIaine Battery, killed at Petersburg, ^'a., Dec. 
5th, 1864, aged 24. 

JOHN H. ROBERTS, 17th Maine Regiment, wounded at Spottsylvauia, 
Va., May 12th, died Aug. loth, 1864, aged 45. 

EMERY ROLFE, 5th Maine Regiment, died at Governor's Island, N. Y., 
Nov. 2, 1862, aged 20. 

FREEDOM D. RAND, 11th Maine Regiment, wounded at the Wilder- 
ness, Va., May 6th. died May 7th, 1864, aged 23. 

JOSEPH SMALL, 1st Maine Cavalry, wounded and prisoner, Aug., 18G4, 
died in rebel prison, aged 20. 

FRANCIS H. SMALL, 2d Maine Cavalry, died at Barancas, Fla , Sept. 
5th, 1805, aged 21. 



WILLIAM M. SPAULDIXG, 1st Miiiue Battery, died at New Orleans, 
La., July 5tli, 1804, aged 45. 

JAJMES A. SMITH, 12tli INIaine Regiment, died at New Orleaus, La., May 
27th, 1862, aged 19. 

WILLIAM H. SINIITH, 32d Maine Eegiment, died at New Haven, Conn., 
Sept. 19th, 1864, aged 32. 

JOHN 3r. STEVENS, 2d Maine Battery, ilied at Baltimore, Md., Jan. 4th, 
1865, aged 21. 

SILAS M. SMITH, 17th Maine Eegiment, died at Washington, D. C, 
]May 24th, 1805, aged 29. 

MOSES B. TRIPP, 9th Maine Eegiment, died at Fernandina, Fla., Aug, 
6tli, 1862, aged 33. 

"V\TLL1AM AY. WARD, 16th INIaiue Eegiment, died at Annapolis, Md., 
Oct. 20th, 1863, aged 19. 

CHAELES F. WATEEMAN, 7t]i Connecticut Eegiment, died at Fort 
Pulaski, Ga., June 5tli, 1862, aged 18. 

ALONZO M. AVHITNEY, 10th INIaine Eegiment, killed at Fredericks- 
burg, Va., Dec. 13th, 1802, aged 18. 

G. SUMNEE WHITNEY, 12th Maine Eegiment, died at Savannah, Ga., 
May 11th, 1865, aged 20. 

CHAELES WILLIAMS, lltli JNIaine Eegiment, died at Meridian Hill, 
D. C, April 10th, 1862, aged 41. 

CHiVELES H. PAINE, 1st Maine Eegiment, died at Gorham, ]May 25th, 
1800, aged 24. 

EEV. JOHN E. ADAMS. D. D., died April 25th, 1860, aged 04, of disease 
resulting from devoted service during the rebellion as Chaplain 
of the 5th Maine and 121st New York Eegiments. 



DEDICATION EXERCISES. 



The Committee of Avrajigements, at the earnest solicita- 
tion of many citizens, respectfully present the following as the 
substantial part of the exercises which were so well received by 
the thousands who gathered to witness the dedication of the 
Soldiers' Monument. We regret that better arrangements could 
not have been made to accommodate our friends who honored 
the occasion Avith their pi'csence. It was onginally intended 
that after the procession had visited the monument, the remain- 
ing exercises should take place at the Congregational Meeting- 
house, which had been beautifully decorated for the occasion. 
The large number present, and the fine weather, rendered out- 
door exercises preferable, which were conducted in the following 
order, according to the 



|3r0!$rasHnie. 



The soldiers of Gorhara, and other returned soldiers, and the 
several organizations who had been invited to join in the proces- 
sion, assembled on the Common (on South Street) at 12 1-2 o'clock. 

The procession formed iu the following oi'der: 

COMPAKY ARTILLERY TJ. S. A. MAJ. BARTLET. 

KETUEXED SOLDIERS OF GOIiHAM^ COL. COLEMAN HARDING. 

ORATOR. rOET. CHAPLAIN. 

PRESIDENT OP THE DAY AND COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS, 

MUNICIPAL OFFICERS AND AGED CITIZENS OF GORHAM. 

FAMILIES OF DECEASED SOLDIERS. 



AKMY AND NAVY UNION, FROM PORTLAND. 

OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS FROM OTHER TOWNS. 

FREE MASONS. 

STRANGERS. 

CITIZENS OF GORHAM. 

A Union National Salute was fired in the morning, and on the 
arrival of Gen. Chamberlain, a Major General's salute. Fifty-seven 
guns were fired at noon, in honor of our deceased soldiers whose 
names api)ear on the monument — all under the direction of Lieut. 
Charles O. Hunt. 

The procession moved at two o'clock, and passed through the 
principal streets of the village. 



EXERCISES AT THE MONUMENT. 

DIRGE BY THE BAND. 

PRAYER. — BY REV. CALEB FULLER. 

INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS BY HON. J. A. WATERMAN, CHAIRMAN OF 
THE MONUMENT COMMITTEE. 

Fellow Citizens: — In performing the duty assigned to me 
upon this occasion, I have thought that a brief account of the cir- 
cumstances relating to the erection of this monument, for the dedi- 
cation of which we have assembled, would not be inapproiDriate. 

At the very outbreak of the rebellion the sons of Gorham, true 
to the spirit which animated their ancestors, many of whom were 
soldiers in the French and Indian and Eevolutionary wars, and also 
the war of 1812, were among the first to respond to their country's 
call. Immediately upon the reception of the President's proclama- 
tion of April 15, 18G1, the old flag was raised and hung across our 
principal street. 

Gazing with new interest and increased devotion upon this 
national emblem, which had just received foul dishonor from those 
whom it had protected, and who should have been its defenders, 



our brave and pati'iotic youth rallied alxnit it, cai^cr to aveuiio the 
insult cast upon it and to of!er their heart's blood, it' needed, to 
wash out the stain whieli parricidal hands had left ou its hitherto 
untarnished folds. 

From that time throughout the four long and anxious years that 
followed, this town was ever ready to meet, to the fullest extent, 
every demand upon liei- citizens, t)r her pecuniary resources; 'while 
our women and children, year after year, in the darkest hours as 
Well as in more hopeful seasons, were indefatigable in their labors 
to promote the health and comfort, and to alleviate the suflerings 
of those who, between us and danger, were hghtiug the battles of 
the Republic. 

But alas how many of those who went forth from us in all the 
vigor and enthusiasm of 3-outh, or the energy and strength of 
manhood, have fallen! IIow crowded with, names of dear and 
loved ones is the roll of " the unreturning brave! " 

Yet proud as our record as a town might otherwise be, it would 
lack much of completeness without some public memorial to' per- 
petuate the evidence of our grateful recognition of their services, 
and the honor to which they are most justly entitled. 

Entertaining this sentiment in common with others, our venera- 
ble townsman and friend, Hon. Toppau Eobie, has anticijiated all 
municipal or individual action in regard to it, and most generously 
appropriated a portion of his ample means, the fruit of years of 
industry and integrit}', to the erection of the monument before us. 

Early in October, ISO"), the following communication was re- 
ceived l)y those to whom it was addressed: 

To Hon. John A. Waterman, Hon. Josiali Pierce, Hon. Frederick Eobie, 
Gen. E. T. Smith, Steplieu Hinklcy, Esq., Jeremiah Parker, Esq., and 
Lothrop L. Files, Esq : 

Gentlemen: — As a token of my respect for tlie brave and patriutii' meu 
of Gorliani who volunteered their services in defence of the Union, and 
have aided in crushing the wicked rebellion, and from a desire on my jiart 
that the names of those who have fallen in liattle, or who have died of 
wounds or sickness incurred in the service, should not be fori^ottcn, but 
handed down to future generations, I propose to the inhabitants of Gor- 
ham that a suitable monument should be erected, at my expense, in front 
of the Town House, commemorative of those events. 

And now, gentlemen, I address you as my friends and fellow townsmen, 
and respectfully request of you that you will call upon the projier authori- 
ties, and cause a meeting of the inhabitants of said town to be held, at 



10 

such time as may he deemed expedient, to take iiito cousideration the 
object suggested, and if judged expedient, that you may be constituted a 
committee to see the same carried into efiect. Toppan Eobie. 

GOKHAM, Oct. 10, 18(55. 

Ill accordance with the request thus made, a town meeting was 
held upon the 8th day of ISTovember last, and it was voted to accept 
the proposition, and that the thanks of this town be presented to 
Hon. Toppan Eobie for his generous and patriotic offer. The per- 
sons recommended by him were appointed a committee to net in 
the premises, and a vote was passed that an appropriate celebra- 
tion be held when the monument should l)e completed. 

The committee thus chosen took the matter in charge, and after 
repeated meetings, consultations, and examinations of numeious 
designs and models presented, and visiting various localities where 
monuments of a character similar to that proposed had been 
erected, they at last adopted the design of this structure, and at 
once contracted for the erection of tlie same. Meanwhile no pains 
had been spared by the committee in their endeavors to olitain a 
complete and correct list of those "VAhose names should be inscribed 
ujjon the monument. After the list had been made as acctn-ate as 
the information which the committee Intd l)een able to obtain would 
render it, it vras, by the courtesy of the publishers, printed in sev- 
eral of the Portland newspapers, with a special request that any 
errors discovered therein should be seasonaljly made known to the 
conunittee, that they might have an opportunity to correct them. 
So that if any errors or omissions have occurred in this list they 
cannot be attributed to any lack of eflbrt on the part of the com- 
mittee to avoid them. At a town meeting held on the '28th of 
April last, it was 

roted, "That Daniel C. Emery, Samuel F. Bacon, and Hugh D. INIcLel- 
lan, together with the Selectmen, be a Counnittee to prepare and arrange, 
in a suitable manner, the grounds and surroundings about the Soldiers' 
Monument to be erected in front of the Town House." 

Also, 

Voted, "That the Selectmen and the Committee who have had the charge 
of jirocuring and erecting the Soldiers' ]\Ionument, and the Committee this 
diiy chosen to prepare the grounds, be a Committee to make suitable 
arrangements for the dedication of the monument." 

Since the committee first chosen entered upon their duties, one 
of their number, who, so long as his physical strength would per- 



11 

mit him to do so, met and counselled Avitli them, and greatly aided 
them in their labors, has been removed by death.* 

And we all to-day, fellow citizens, miss the cheerful presence and 
the inspiriting voice of him, who, for nearly half a century, had 
manifested peculiar interest in all that pertained to the history of 
our town, and was always ready and aide to contribute from his 
great fund of general and historical information to the interest of 
an occasion like this. 

I know, my friends, that j-ou will pardon this passing tribute, 
which a just resjject for the memory of one closely identified with 
the affixirs of the town, and long an associate and friend of the 
donor of this monument, seemed to demand. 

The work entrusted to these various Committees has been com- 
pleted, and the object contemplated in their aj^poiutment accom- 
lilished. Having performed the duties assigned them they now 
feel that, at- the close of this day's exercises, they may ask an 
honorable discharge. 

And now, sir, (addi-essiug Mr. Robie), in behalf of those appoint- 
ing us, we desire again to extend to you the sincere thanks of the 
citizens of this town for your generous and patriotic gift, and to 
assure you of our earnest hope that you may enjoy in a ripe and 
honored old age the blessings and privileges of those free institu- 
tions, which they, whose names you desire to perpetuate, gave their 
lives to preserve. 

To you, gallant comrades in arms of those to whose memory 
this monument is consecrated — to all present who have been con- 
nected with either branch of the Federal service, military or naval, 
we extend a cordial welcome. 

"We rejoice that a kind Providence spared your lives through all 
the perils of a long and terrible war, and permitted you to return 
to your homes in full health and strength, or bearing upon your 
persons honorable evidences of your heroism and lidelity to dutj- — 
that you are enabled to enjoy among kindred and friends the fruits 
of those victories, to win which you contributed in no scanty meas- 
ure. We still further rejoice that you can participate in the ser- 
vices in which we are now engaged. May the nation's gi-atitude 
be freely manifested towards you, its heroic defenders, and the 
glory of your achievements grow brighter as the service you have 

* Hon. Josiah Pierce. 



12 

rendered is more comiiletcly understood and api:)reciated in the 
light of histoi-y. 

And to all the various bodies and organizations here assembled, 
we desire to express our great gratillcation at their presence, and 
their readiness to cooperate with us in our endeavors to pay 
proper respect to the memory of our deceased soldiers. 

Citizens- of Gorham: — This costly and beautiful monument, now 
yours, and to be hereafter in 3'our custody, is a sacred and precious 
memorial. For every name inscribed upon its tablets a life was 
given. That long list of the gallant dead contains in itself a his- 
tory, and could we particularize, the narrative would form a vol- 
ume of sad but thrilling interest. Upon that roll of honor are 
I'epresented various ages and conditions of life— youth, manhood, 
mature years, and even three score years did not deter him whose 
name was last placed thereon, from most active and devoted ser- 
vice.* The farm, the shop, the institution of learning, the mechan- 
ic's bench, the office, and the sacred desk, — in fact, nearly all the 
occupations of our New England life, — have there their silent 
rejiresentatives. 

And under what various circumstances they died. Some sud- 
denly, in the shock of battle; some in camp, or in hospital, of 
wounds or lingering disease; some in rebel iirisons; while to a few 
was granted the blessed privilege of returning to their homes, 
where, among devoted friends, receiving every attention which the 
fondest affection could inspire, and with expressions of love for 
God and their country upon their whitening lips, they calmly 
yielded up their spirits to Ilim who created them. 

The soil of at least twelve different States is consecrated by 
holding the remains of our gallant dead. To some were accorded 
the rites of christian burial, and official care or the hand of friend- 
sliip has designated and guarded their last resting places. Others 
are sleeping in graves, the locality of which the most careful search 
of friends cannot discover, and which none shall know until the 
last trump shall sound, and the earth give uj) her dead. 

But under whatever circumstances death occurred, or they were 
committed to the dust, 

" To all who sleep a soldier's sleep, 
Where'er they lie, — iu hallowed ground. 
Or those above whose grass grown mound 

* Chai)lain Adams. 



13 

Sad stars tlieir lonely vigils keep; 
To all our brave heroic band, 
"Who nobly met a soldier's fate, 
This monument we consecrate." 

To you, the relatives of these deceased friends, yve tender our 
heartfelt sympathy. May He who alone knows how great is the 
weight of sorrow hurdening each heart, afford His promised 
strength and support to each and all of you. 

Fellow citizens, as we look ui)on this moniuncnt and read the 
names of the departed inscril^ed thereon, let us remember for what 
and for whom they died. Let us remember that in them the love 
of life was as strong, its future as inviting, its claims upon Ihem as 
urgent, as in our own cases. And yet, subjecting all other claims 
and considerations to the love of countiy and the call of duty, they 
yielded up life itself rather than the sacred cause they had espoused. 
They died that the nation might live. 

" A debt we ne'er can pay 
To them is justly due; 
And to the nation's latest day 
Our children's children still shall say, 
" They died for me and you." 

Let us cherish their memories. In the language of the donor of 
this monument, let " their names not be forgotten, but handed 
down to future generations." 

And when this marble shall have crumbled into dust, let tradi- 
tion take up the story of their heroism and their sacrifices, and 
continue to repeat it through all coming time." 



^d^inal Sbc. 



BY ir. L. C II A r M A N". 

Tune — PleyeVs Ili/inn. 

Marble record of the brave 
Lost, our Motherland to save! 
In thy spotless beauty keep 
Memories of those who sleep. 

Thou canst not reveal the grief 
Bound within the gathered sheaf. 
Thine, it is, to tell the fame 
Wreathing every patriot name. 



14 

Land, iu Pilgrim story shrined! 
"With th}^ niart3r names entwined, 
Treasure these, the hrave and free, 
Shi'iuking not to die for thee. 

Thou, who blessed the Plymouth shore! 
Thou, who all our weakness bore! 
Taken from our earthly love, 
Keep them in Thine own, above. 

MUSIC BY chandler's BAND. 

BEADING FROM THE SCRIPTURES, BY CHAPLAIN E. W. JACKSON. 

VOCAL MUSIC BY G. W. GARDINER AND OTHERS. 

ADDRESS BY MAJOR GENERAL J. L. CHAMBERLAIN. 



"Dead ox the Pield of IIoxor! " You know the story — 
that Pirst Grenadier of Prance, for whose insi)iring heroism ISTa- 
poleon ordered that his name should be called on the roll long after 
death had set a glorious seal upon his valor, and at the name, "La 
Tour d'Auvergne! " the sergeant of his company stepjoed forward 
two paces, saluted, and gave ans.ver in these wnjrds. They are 
poetic words — thrilling words. ]]ut standing here to-day and look- 
ing upon this scene, they come to me fraught with a soberness and 
sublimity of meaning such as they scarcely had before. As I give 
place to the recollections that still throng upon my memory, — as I 
think of the gallant spirits that have not shrunk from the highest 
test of manhood for the cause of man, — as I look on this assembly 
and search in vain for dear and venerated forms, — as I gaze upon 
these graves, and comprehend what all this means, I take up these 
words; and if you call this sacred roll — if you ask for these fifty- 
seven, from Pogg to Adams — I advance, I salute you, I answer — 
" Dead on the Field of Ilonorl " 

Por is not the whole laud a field of honor for those wdio have 
given their lives for its deliverance? Whether they fell under the 
sharp stroke that cleft at once from life to death; or wore away 
under the exposure, the privations, the hardships of the field; or 
were out-wearied by the mechanical routine of liospitals; or lan- 
guished and starved in exile and iu prison; or were so blessed as 



15 

to ])e borne back to cherished hearts and homes, that tlieir last look 
might be upon their native skies, and their last breath in an atmos- 
phere of love — is it not all, T say, for them, one broad field of honor? 
Is not the whole country, her bosom swelling with fresh gi-aves, an 
alter whereon these precious victims have been laid — the altar 
indeed sanctifying the gift, but no less the gift glorifying the altar! 
Is not the country herself more sacred and more dear forever, 
because of those who have returned to the bosom which they have 
shielded with their awn? They who stood for her honor, and fell for 
her deliverance, shall they not sleep for her glory? Shall not these 
breasts, though lifeless, still stand forever between her and harm? 

It is not that these men are dead, but that they^ .so died; not as 
if they fell by one of the thousand chances of this mortal lot, which 
might happen to us all; but that they ofl'ered themselves wilKngly 
to death in a cause vital and dear to humanity; and what is more, 
a cause which they comjjrehended as such, and looking at it in all 
its bearings and its consequences, solemnly pledged to it all that 
they had and were. That is why we hold these names Avorthy of 
our commemoration; that is what gives to death a glory life cannot 
"wear. Others, doubtless, of whom that last sacrifice was not 
demanded, offered themselves as freel}' to fate. But they returned; 
they walk among us; they can take care of themselves, or rather, 
they can receive your care, and in your recognition and regard feel 
themselves blessed and rewarded. But with these, how worthily 
and how completely the sacrifice is finished! Consciously, delil^er- 
ately, cheerfully; comprehending the cause, counting the cost, and 
holding the dearest price as not too dear. For the sake of man, 
man offers his life. Stern fate accepts the proffer — a gift so precious 
that not the broad republic, not the kingdoms and empires of this 
earth, nor all its multitudes, not even the legions of angels, nay, 
not even our yearning love can call it back! This is wh}^ we crown 
the dead, and the living make bare their heads. This is wliy the 
whole nation rises up in reverence before her martyrs. This is 
why, to-day, the generosity of a venerated citizen, spared beyond 
his allotted years, is proud to link himself with the name and fame 
of those who perished before their prime. And it is for this we 
have assembled here, at this season when throughout nature the 
loving are wont to gather and give thanks — in these lingering 
summer days when heart calls home its own — that we may conse- 
crate this monument as a perpetual greeting to the brave and 
faithful who '' return no more! " 



IG 

It is an instinct of the human heart to honor those who have 
overcome tlie fear of death; and especially those who have given 
their lives for a belief, a sentiment, an idea, a principle. All 
nations have their treasured rolls of martyrs and heroes, and it 
has been held worthy the highest ambition to write one's name 
upon the scroll. The State has deemed it a high necessity to cher- 
ish the memory of those who have fallen in its behalf Art, elo- 
quence, and song, philosophy and religion, have conspired to per- 
petuate the fame and embalm the characters if not the names of 
those who died for the weal of others. Even they Avho profess to 
believe that passing pleasure is the end of life, are constrained to 
yield to the force of heroic examples, and the responsive heart of 
man, and confess that it is " sweet to die for country." There is 
somc^thing grand in ovei'coming the primal instincts — to be superior 
to hunger, cold, fatigue — to rise above the care of self, and the fear 
of death — the soul subduing the sense; it is a sort of regeneration; 
it is the transfiguration of human nature. No matter what the 
final cause or object may be, the overmastering of self is great, 
manliness is noble, devotion is suljlime. 

So those who brave suffering and death are held in honor, in 
whatever name they were sunnnoned to the strife. It is the nobil- 
ity of heroic souls which wins our worship. It may be exercised 
for the " divine right of kings," for the " balance of power," for the 
conquest of arms, for the glory of a name, or the redemption of the 
Holy Sei)ulchre. But if we yield our admiration to the mere spec- 
tacle of heroism, what honor have we for those who are heroes for 
tlie sake of right — the men who bear witness to their faith by suf- 
fering for it — who go forth in the full comprehension and commun- 
ion of the truth, to stake their lives on its vindication'? To die in a 
just cause, in attestation of their faith in it, inconsequence of their 
love for it — this is to die gloriously — to die "on the field of honor." 

My friends, the men whose great sacrifices we this day connnem- 
orate, were not lacking in the commoner qualities which have won 
tlie admiration of the world. They have given proof of what is 
noblest in manhood. Self-sacrifice, patience, fortitude, courage, 
high purpose and great resolve, strength of body, loftiness of soul. 
Had the heroic ages any more? 

We are apt to think most of the battle as a soldier's trial. The 
shock and clash, the hiss and roar, waves of blood surging l)eneath 
the waves of flame — the reeling lines, the broken ranks, the mad 
fever above the mangled slain — these are the pictures of a soldier's 



17 

hardships which rise most vividly to the mind. But there are 
harder things to bear than battles. In these there is much to keep 
a man up. Desperate as the strife may be, there is something within 
which rises to the pitch of the occasion, and meets the blow mid- 
way. But the wear and tear of a campaign; picket duty in cold 
and wet, where neither fire nor light nor shelter must be had, 
amidst lurking perils and harrowing responsibilities; the hard 
march, in extremes of weather, with painful steps that must not 
slacken, and heavy burdens that it were a crime to throw aside; 
the roadside bivouac; the hunger and thirst not easy to be borne; 
and more than all to the ambitious spirit, the most anxious endeav- 
ors seemingly unappreciated, his brave bearing-up against discovu"- 
agements unnoticed, his heroic devotion and effective service unre- 
warded; — these are the things that try the soul. 

You remember, comrades, tbe forced march the night before the 
battle — the weary pain-crossed feces yet set steadily towards the 
goal where only deeper weariness and sharper pain awaited them; 
the over-burdened frames still scorning to linger lest they .should 
miss the post of honor; the way-worn feet still marching to death 
as to a festival. Tell me, for you have walked through the wards 
of a hospital, did you not see the soul swaying up the body; brave 
spirits battling with despair, eager to gain strength enough to go 
back and meet new wounds and sicknesses ; the impatient patient 
dying to fight, though that were but lighting to die? Remember 
Libby and Belle Isle, with all their unnamed horrors. Dare to 
think of Andersonville, — fit only for the danmed, — where yet the 
gentle and true-hearted were packed to stifle and to starve. Think 
of the fortitude which rather than dishonor could not choose death, 
but Avas forced to suffer Zi/c, which was more bitter! Then tell me 
if there is not still a manhood which has lost nothing of the old 
heroic cast — a valor which is virtue. 

When I recall what has been borne and triumphed over by the 
sheer strength of a manly spirit, I feel a new reverence for the 
dignity and glory of human nature, and that true manliness is 
near akin to godliness. 

But tliere was something more. We yield not to the men of 
other climes or ages in the spirit that will kindle at the name of 
Country. Is it not a strange thing, and full of some yet unfath- 
omed meaning — this fascinating esprit de corps — this spirit of 
membership and affiliation? Why is it that a man will die for 
country, seeing we are but pilgrims and sojourners here? What is 



18 

there so wondrous in a waving banner, that it should beckon the 
eyes where tliey sliall close on it forever? Why should the idea of 
Nationality so thrill that each man thinks it dearer to him than 
life, seeing that heijond there is one tongue, and neither Partliian, 
Mede, Elamite, nor Jew? Is it not because these things are the 
emblems and foreshadowings of the great ideals which man most 
loves — the end of all his longing and striving? Freedom, peace, 
protection, home, love, the joy of high activities! And in the idea 
of country and nationality is the shadowing and similitude of these 
immortal resting places of the soul. Organized society secures 
these to us, in some small degree, suited to our transient estate, but 
tlie best we can look for here. So one will bravely die to insure 
these precious ends, not for himself, — oh, glory of manhood! — but 
for others. I hold it no less than an argument for a future exist- 
ence that a man will give his life for his friend when by that very 
act he loses him here forever; that one will suffer gladly that 
others may be free from ill; that one will die i^ainfulty that his 
countrymen may live happily. So unselfish, so little looking for 
reward, so trusting to the final good, so venturing for the brother- 
hood of man, on the Fatherhood of God! Surely, otherwhere than 
here must we look for the just balance of things; elsewhere, and 
not here can we fathom the deep t-ignificance of patriotism and 
martyrdom ! 

And it was for this sentiment of country, and nothing else, that 
they who sleep in these honored graves first sprung to arms, and 
offered themselves as martyrs. " My country " and " the old 
flag " — how the thought quickened the elastic step which bore 
them to the strife ! how it lingered on dying lips when the bloody 
fray was over. " Tell her I die for my country! " — how many such 
a message has been sent from fields of glory! '•'■ Fro patr'ia^^'' mur- 
mured, with failing breath, your own heroic boy, Horatio Smith. 
'■'■ Pro patria^^'' the language of the scholar, the soul of the patriot! 
Do any doubt that we know what love of country means? In no 
time or clime has there been more ready, cheerful, nolile devotion. 
This too, in a period and locality in which men were taught that 
war was wickedness, and were peculiarly taunted with self-seeking, 
with mere mechanical enterprise, and barrenness of chivalry. 
But those gravely mistook, who presumed that we would prefer 
jDcace to honor, pi-ivate wealth to i^ublic weal, and comfort to 
country. The new world has witnessed to a patriotism worthy the 
golden ages of the old. 



19 

But this was not all. Those who rcspoudcd to the call of the 
constituted authorities, sprung up as if by instinct. It was well. 
It showed that Law was at the bottom of our Liberty, and Might 
the minister of Eight. But the sky grew darker— the struggle 
thickened. Men were forced to think. They grew to a clear 
intelligence of the question, — to a complete comprehension of the 
vastness of the issues, and they accepted, without a murmur, and 
without hesitation, the great responsibility, the herculean task. 
It was not simply a country restored, but a country regcDCrated. 
And broader yet: the struggl'e was for the vital interests of man- 
kind, and was ordained by Providence to mark a tide in human 
History, and an epoch in Time. So, starting from this rallying 
point of country, and the honor of her flag, impelled by manly 
instincts, and upborne by manly fortitude, they were forced l>y the 
protracted struggle to scrutinize the merits of the cause for which 
they were called to suffer, to estimate the value of the principles 
held worthy of so dear a defence. "What I now claim is, that this 
comprehension of the cause, this intelligent devotion, this delil^erate 
dedication of themselves to duty, these deaths sufiered in testimony 
of their loyal faith and love, make these men worthy of honor 
to-day, and these deaths equal to the lauded deaths of martyrs. 
Not merely that the cause was worthy, but that they were worthy. 
The men who understandingly peril life for a great principle, are 
so much the greater and better men. Not only in the strength 
which clear consciousness of right and deep conviction of duty 
give, but in the educating influence of mingling in momentous 
movements, and living in the presence of great ideas, cherishing 
them as thoughts which pass into high purpose, and are daily 
translated into deeds. This cant about the wickedness of the 
army is the talk of Pharisees who take comfort and merit in find- 
ing somebody worse than themselves. There is nothing in the 
smell of gunpowder more than of groceries to obfuscate the moral 
sense. Nor are shoddy and shelter tents and hard tack greater 
allurements to crime, than to be gorgeously apparelled, and to live 
in kings' houses. Nor do cowhide shoes make the feet more swift 
to run to mischief. I do not say that our soldiers were all what 
they should be, but I do say that they have not come home less 
and worse than they went out. A good cause makes more bad 
men good than good men bad. Let Lord Melville say, in the Brit- 
ish Parliament, the worse man the better soldier, for such may suit 
his purpose. But here, let no such shameful utterance be heard, 



20 

where the high impulses of manhood, and the generous devotion of 
jDatriotism, enlisted the best spirits among us. Disciplined and not 
degraded, ennobled and not enervated, are they who, b}'^ earnest 
communion and active sympathy with the noblest interests of man, 
do not shrink from toil and danger and suffering on this behalf. 

From a somewhat large experience with soldiers I have found 
that good character and good conduct go together. It was the dis- 
cipline of these school-houses and these churches, the diffusion of 
intelligence, the precepts and practices of virtue, which consti- 
tuted the moral power of our army, and made it superior to disas- 
ter and superior to triumph. When I think of Avhat these men 
suffered and did, how they bore themselves in all their varied for- 
tunes, I marvel with a wonder which is admiration. With a forti- 
tude and fidelity almost beyond example, unwearied by long drawn 
battles and fruitless campaigns, patient alike under their own mis- 
fortunes and the mistakes of superiors, tried and found not want- 
ing! And in the darkest hour of our cause, when the stoutest 
hearts at home sunk in doubt and dismay, and words of cheer 
were hushed, then the men on whom the fiery edge of battle fell, 
did not despair, did not hesitate, did not blench. IsTo! the army, 
in that midnight hour, rose from its bivouac on the field of death, 
closed in its shattered ranks, wiped the blood stains from its brow, 
and at the word, advanced to the desperate essay, — cheerfully, 
calmly, with sublime obedience. God grant that to us that lesson 
of devotion and loyalty be not lost! God grant that the victory so 
dearly bought may not be in vain! And in triumph, too, obedient 
still, which is more difficult. Masters of their enemies, masters of 
themselves — which is more noble. Never in history was such 
meekness seen before. They usurped no civil authority — invaded 
no rights of the people — nay, when the crimes and corruptions 
which lurked in the capital to compass the death of all the good, 
seemed to demand that the victorious army should assume the 
direction of affairs, not an act, not a word, not a thought nor a 
dream, from the great chief to the drummer boy, of laying an 
vmhallowed hand on the ark of the covenant! And when their task 
was done, they gathered on the banks of the Potomac, not as victori- 
ous Cajsar paused on the brink of the Ilubicon to brace his resolu- 
tion to seize the liberties of his country, but to lay down their arms 
at the feet of the constitutional authority with as much respect, as 
much humility, as much sincerity, as they had seen in the hostile 



21 

hosts laying down their arms at the feet of these same conquerors. 
I say to you, that History has not seen a sight Hke this.* 

Tliese are the men you may count on for loyalty — the men who 
have learned their lessons at the cannon's lips, and to whom ab- 
stract truths have heen illustrated and Ijrought home l)y the con- 
crete shock of the charge! 

And it is men like these we come to honor, to worth like this we 
consecrate this monument, that these great examples of what men 
will dare and do for right may not fade; that they who sleep on the 
field of honor may never die. But it is only to keep them in 
rememhrance? Is it not rather that they may keep us in remem- 
brance; that we may never lose sight of the holy cause which they 
have vindicated, and never forget how dear is honor, how sacred is 
country, how noble is man! 

We have come here, friends, not for the things that die, but for 
things that cannot die — not to a burial, but to an ascension. The 
"grave speaks not of death only, but of new and better life. I 
was a just and good cause for which these preciou.s Hves have been 
laid down, and whatever were the issue, no shame could follow 
the dead or the living who have served in it. But I say to you, 
also, that this is a triumphant cause. The time is coming when it 
will be a glory to have borne part in it. Not merely that we 
conquered in arms, which is sometimes the issue of chance, or 
the decree of force, but that we are rvjlit. Better to die for riglit 
than to live for wrong. But dead in a just cause; is not this to be 
ti'iumphant over death and after death'? And I say, in presence 
of this assembly, before these opened graves, and amidst the great 
cloud of unseen witnesses that compass us about, that the cause 
for which these lives were offered was a righteous cause, and, 
therefore, a triumphant cause. 

For human history is not a Dead Sea; it is a flowing river. 
There is a course and process of atiairs; a developnient of society, 
rational and spiritual, moral and material; a slow but sure unfold- 
ing of the latent genius of the race; a destiny of man; a God of 
history. And what is whispered l)y the past, and what is thun- 
dered by the present, what I see in the countenances of to-day, 
what I read on these sealed lips, I proclaim to the expectant 
future, — Truth shall triumph! 

*The aiitlior has here introduced a few sentences from an oration deliv- 
ered by liim in Pbiladelpliia, ou the 22d of February, 1800, before the Loyal 
Legion of the United States. 



22 

Stand, then, O Monument! resist the shock of elements and the 
touch of time, eloquent with these deathless names! And ye, O 
Martyrs! tell to after ages what virtue was in this — tell to a deliv- 
ered country how precious are her foundations — tell to enfranchised 
humanity, Lihcrtij cannot die! 

MUSIC BY THE BAND. 
POEM BY HON. E. P. WESTON. 






silent harj), that long hath lain unstrung, 

1 wake thee once again. Perchance among 

Thy slumbering chords some wayward notes may rise,- 
Though all untuned for this high sacrifice, — 
To crown the memories of our noble dead, 
And a few garlands on their graves to spread! 

O sacred memory of the manly souls. 

Who gave their right hands to their coimtry's rolls, 

Joined the long march with faint and weary tramp. 

Bivouacked on tentless fields, or pined in camp, 

In many a bloody fight stood side by side, 

And nobly conquered, or as nobly died! 

Cold were the heart, and dead — thrice dead — the lyre, 

Which thrilled not wildly with unwonted fire, 

Nor burned Avhen burning themes like these inspire! 

On the sad morning of old Sumter's fall, 

How sprang our heroes at their country's call! 

Wild screamed the bugle, and the rolling diaim 

Wa§ answered with the shout — " we come, we come! " 

From the far prairies to the hills of Maine 

The nation's heart was rent with thi-oes of pain. 

This Union shall not 2)ensh I the good land 

Our fathers fought for must forever stand; 

Our banner waving as it waved of old. 

The stars still shining in " each ample fold! " 

Then wasted forms of patriot sires 
Rekindled with their pristine fires; 
Our youthful heroes mustered then, 



23 

Along each hill and vale and glen, 

And boys grew big with hearts of men! 

Then trembling mothers wiped their tears, 

Gave truce to unbecoming fears; 

And maidens with a sigh and blush 

Bade everj^ rising murmur hush; 

"VYliile sterner fathers only said, 

' Our sires for us once fought and bled, 

' And children, in the fathers' stead, 

'Must seize and bear aloft the flag 

' Which traitors in tlie dust would drag! 

O glorious flag — red, white, and blue. 
Bright emblem of the pure and true, — 
O glorious group of clustered stars. 
Ye lines of light, ye crimson bars, 
Trampled in dust by traitors' feet. 
Once more your flowing folds we greet. 
Triumphant over all defeat; 
Henceforth in every clime to be. 
Unfading scarf of Liberty, 
The ensign of the brave and free. 

So with our l)anuer went our fondest hopes 
Down dusty highways and up weary slopes. 
On many a field to wage the desperate fight, 
For FiiEEDOM, Justice, and eternal Eight! 

How yearned our anxious hearts, ye know full well, 

For tidings how the heroes fought or fell. 

How pale our faces grew, like very death. 

How patriots wrung their hands and held their breath, 

When news of dire disaster thrilled the wires, 

But to inflame our hearts with hotter fires! 

How leaped the wild huzzas to every tongue, 

When news of victory through the nation rung! 

Churches and legislative halls and schools 

Forgot all parliamentary forms and rules; 

Men become children in their wild delight. 

And children talked like men, of glorious fight! 

The patriot school-dame laid aside her rod, 

And taught her pupils that the love of God 



24 



Glowed warmest in the hearts which felt, all through, 
That love of country was a virtue too. 
The pastor, leading forth his village flock 
To the green meadows and the shadowy rock, 
Remembering well his order, — " watch and pray," — 
Watched all the week and prayed each Sabbath day, 
Though coward hearers sometimes ran away! 

Dear boys in blue, excuse me if I tell, 
What doubtless, you have learned so very well, 
That every village dame and country maid 
Was organized, some way, for soldiers' aid; 
While patriotic men — who staid at home — 
For the dear girls — and soldiers — hleeded some! 

Circles, Committees, Sanitary Fairs, 
Awhile quite superseded household cares, — 
While loving mothers linted linen rags, 
And maidens made such piles of comfort-bags! 
What matter if we men went late to bed! 
We had, at least, a pillow for our head. 
While many a soldier had a turf instead! 

Pardon, dear ladies, — work so nobly done, 
Commands the thanks of brother, sire, and son; 
And every patriot in this throng, to-day, 
Unites with me that gratitude to pay. 
Well may the memory of those toilsome hours 
Tax the poor tribute of our feeble powers; 
While blessings from the dying soldier's lips 
All praise from living men must far eclipse! 

Welcome bold boys — I wrote it first — " in blue " — 
Welcome brave men — in cvcnj color true! 
Pleased, had we greeted those old coats again, 
Nor less to find you dressed like other men — 
The soldier still — and yet the citizen! 
With slow and martial step ye gather liere, 
To give departed comrades one more tear; 
Of many a Avell-fought field or prison hell 
Your noble deeds or nobler suilerings tell. 
Welcome to-day! The people's thanks we give, 
And bid you in our grateful memories live. 



25 

Now turn we where this i)olishe(l marljle stands, 
A thing of beauty from the artist's hands, 
And brighter beauty of his heart who gave 
Such grand memorial of the fallen brave! 

This sacred record of immortal names 

The gratitude of every heart inflames! 

For us and ours they bore the patriot's cross, 

Counting their country's gain no selfish loss; 

For us, in winter's cold and summei"'s heat 

Kept sleepless guard or marched with blistered feet; 

Bled in the trenches, froze along the line, 

Eushed to the deadly breach or perilous mine, 

And fell at length, O costly sacrifice, 

The price and purchase of our liberties! 

O sainted brothers, that our hearts might pay 

Some tithe of our poor gratitude to-day! 

O that the living crowds which round us wait 

With tearful eyes, this shaft to consecrate. 

Might clasp your spirit forms and fondly press 

Each to his own with plaudit and caress! 

How shall I name you, O ye gloi'ious band, 

Martjn's, defenders of your native land! 

Pardon, kind friends, if first along this line, 

Greets my own eyes that noble boy of mine ; 

Not of my blood — aye, true — but scarcely less 

By me and mine beloved, — the fatherless! 

Summer and winter seated at my board. 

Toiling with patience while his mind he stored^ 

When April opened that eventful year. 

The call for soldiers reached his youthful ear. 

Shall I (JO, sir? O how it lingers yet! 

That earnest question I shall ne'er forget. 

My heart was weak — how could I bid him go? 

His heart was brave — I could not answer '' no." 

A twelve-month passed; through all that luckless year 

He sent us words of patriotic cheei\ 

Where duty called he marched with eager feet, 

Or stood — the dangers of each post to meet. 

O dismal Chickahominy, thy name is death! 

'Twas there the dear boy gave his parting breath ; 



26 

Smitten at Gaines's Mill, turned just aside, 

Said his last words and on the morrow died! 

And there his name, amid Coal Harbor's graves, 

I sought in vain among our garnered braves; 

Then turning slowly, with a sad " not here,''^ 

I gave to Joseph's memory — a tear! 

dulce et decorum est, the scholar said, 

Pro patriamori: then with martial tread 

"Went forth — a soldier — from yon classic hall, 

To battle bravely and as bravely fall. 

Where Gettysburg and desperate valor gave 

The nation victory, and oxn- friends a grave! 

And what though Lowell's name may- not be found 

Among the records of that hallowed ground? 

Still in our hearts, and on this marble traced, 

That name beloved shall never be effaced. 

On the same bloody field did Fogg and Hall, 

Cannel and Hicks in glorious battle fall; 

That field which stayed rebellion's hellish horde. 

And l)ackward on their path the flying squadrons poured! 

O sons of Maine, we speak with pride to-day 

Yovir fiery valor in that fearful fray; 

Howaed and Chambeelain, M'Gilvery, Ames, — 

A noble line of glory's deathless names! 

And when the historic record stands complete. 

We claim for you,* dear sir, a forward seat! 

Fatal Manassas, — field of double woes, — 
Gave the brave Estes glorious repose. 
Mains fell in fierce Antietam's fight, and Shaw 
The bloody struggle of Fort Wagner saw; 
There gave his noble life for lllierty. 
Nor scorned with men of darker hue to die! 
Port Hudson and St. Charles the victory gave 
Parker and Merrett, with a soldier's grave. 
At Fort Pulaski Waterman went down, 
Douglass at far Fort Laramie, and Brown" 
Fought his last battle at old Frederick-town! 

On Fredericksburg's ensanguined plain, 
Unsheltered from the leaden rain, 
* Gen. Chambeiiam. 



27 



Three of our gallant boys were slain: 
There Haskell fighting nobly fell; 
There Whitney bade the Avorld fareATcll; 
There EuwAr.DS calmly sleeps beside 
The Rappahannock's rolling tide, — 
Laying his classic laurels by, 
With patriot heart to do and diel 

In thy green valley, Shenandoah, 
How many fought, who fought no more! 
There Phillips led his gallant men, 
Waving his sword to victory, when 
Some rebel shooter's fatal aim 
Marked him for death and deathless fame! 
" Slight loss," they said, at Hatcher's Bun: 
Alas! it cost our brave boys one, — 
There IIakding's final work was done. 
At Eappahanuock Station's fight, 
Where the bold Fifth boys charged at night, 
And captured half a score of flags — 
What matter if they called them rags ? 
Though rapid victory closed the strife, 
It cost us Elder's noble life. 

Young Whitney at Savannah died, 
With 2)atriot heart and manly pride, 
And sleeps with heroes, side by side; 
Wliile o'er his grave the wild flowers grow, 
And the soft south winds gently blow. 

In May, last spring, I went to trace 
Our army through the Wilderness, 
And plucked blue violets from the path 
Which smoked, two years before, with wrath. 
I marked where storms of whizzing lead 
Had swept the branches overhead; 
And where the bursting shells had broke, 
As playthings, many a sturdy oak: 
And there with solemn step and slow 
Walked back and forth by rank and row, 
Where many a buried hero sleeps, 
While faithful guard the nation keeps. 



28 

Our record marks the fatal clay 

Rand fell amid that bloody fray. 

Where Spottsylvania's woods and glades 

Eeceived to their embowering shades 

The dying forms of Files and Blake, 

There Bumpus, Ward and Roberts take 

Their resting till the dead awake. 

Still fighting down the desperate line, 

In deadly trench and yawning mine, 

DuFFiE and Riggs like heroes fell, 

Near where " Damnation " and " Fort Hell,'' 

(Names more expressive than polite,) 

With other works like them, unite 

Round Petersburg to hold the fight. 

And there McFee, the brave and good. 

In the last battle fearless stood, 

Charged in the grand assault, and knew 

That victory with our eagles flew, — 

Then his last breath, a conqueror, drew. 

" Tliey also serve loho icait,^'' the poet said: 

Alas! thus waited many a hero dead; 

Lingered in weary hospitals and found 

No glorious death on battle-hallowed ground. 

Thus LiBBY, RoLFE, and Smith, thus Ward and Powers 

Conquered in waiting for their dying hours. 

Where the hot south winds and the sluggish tide 

Breathe pestilence, Roberts and Sraulding died. 

Small, at Barrancas gave the contest o'er, 

IMarshall, and Freeman Brown at Baltimore, 

And Tripp, on Fernandina's flowery shore! 

Patrick and Williams found at Washington 

Their patriotic work forever done. 

Coonly's young arm, scarce girded for the fight, 

Fell palsied Avith the fatal typhoid's blight; 

And Newell, with a patriot's fervor fired, 

Offered himself— and yielding all, expired! 

And many a tottering step and wasted form. 
That breasted bravely all the battle's storm, 
Through prison gates and hospitals had passed, 
Found sheltering homes and loving arms at last; 



29 

Arms which around tliein tenderly were pressed, 

Then gave them sadly to the hero's rest! 

Horatio — o'er thy couch, prayer, love, and faith 

Caught the glad triumphs on thy dying breath; 

While tenderest friends around thine opening tomb 

Witnessed the victory which dispelled its gloom! 

Shirley — thy patient sufierings we knew. 

Hoped against hope, but saw thee safely through! 

And Henry — lingering on through suffering years. 

Thy triumph comes at last o'er mortal fears. 

And heaven opens as earth disappears! 

Metcalf and Johnson, Reed and Dunn were laid 

In graves at home, by loving kindred made; 

While Small and Andrews felt, with gasping breath, 

The untold horrors of the prisoner's death! 

God grant such martyrdom may find, above, 

The full fruition of eternal love! 

I name with reverence the man of God, 

Whose feet so long yon sacred aisles had trod. 

God's call in the first bugle's note he heard. 

And hastened, fearless, on his thigh to gird, 

Sword of God'3 spirit — the Eternal Word. 

And how that sword he wielded, let theyn tell, 

Who, faint and wounded, in the battle fell; 

Gave him their last fond messages to bear. 

Or begged with dying lips the chaplain's prayer! 

I met him once along the perilous front 

Where Grant was " fighting out " that stubljorn " line," 

And marked how tenderly, — more than is wont, — 

He used to call the noble Fifth boys " mine; " 

Spoke words of courage in the darkest hour. 

And craved o'er all High Heaven's protecting power! 

Servant of Christ — thy Master's work well done — 

Unburdened of thy cross, jnit on the conqueror's crown! 

Just praise becomes the dead; we would not burn 
Foul flattery's incense o'er the i^atiiot's urn: 
Nor less the living would we scorn to name, 
In terms unmerited by honest fame! 
But every voice shall say — " Let him who reared 



80 



This proud memorial, three times three be cheered! " 
Honor the heart tliese liberal things which planned, 
Honor the name by which these records stand: 
And when he bows beneath the weight of years, 
Let loving hearts bedew his grave Avith tears! 

And this grand monument, standing to preach 
Dead heroes' praises, shall the living teach! 
Teach the young patriots of this rescued land, 
Should treason lift again her red right hand, 
By the brave banner of our hope to stand! 
Teach the high lesson men were slow to learn, 
The nation'' s freedom is a boon loe earn; 
Bought with the purchase blood our fathers paid, 
And held — by ofierings such as these have made! 
Aye, be this greater lesson known and read. 
Clear as the sunlight in the arch overhead. 
That Error falls when Grod and Truth begin, 
And they who battle for the kigkt shall wini 



BY EDWARD P. WESTON. 

Sung by the assembly. — Tune — America. 
God of the rolling year, 
Thy solemn voice we hear, 

While nature dies, — ■ 
" Ye as a leaf do fade: " 
Our hearts' be not dismayed. 
Another voice hath said, 

"The dead shall rise!" 

!Nations like men have died. 
And perished in their pride : 

Thank God anew, 
"When darkness overhead 
Thick gloom around us spread, 
Ilis arm in mercy led 

This nation through! 



31 

Oppression's iron hand 
Was raised to smite the land, 

With fire and sword: 
O Merciful and Just, 
In thee we placed our ti-ust, 
And laid their hosts in dust, — 

Be thou a(U)red. j 

Loud let our preans ring, 
And every patriot sing 

Willi joy and tears; 
Joy that the nation's life 
Was saved amid the strife, 
While all the air was rife 

With lurid fears. 

Tears for the nohle braves 
Who rest in martyrs' graves, 

But are not dead! 
O friends who wake and weep, 
God guards them where they sleep, 
Our hearts their memories keep, — 

Be comforted. 

And while the years shall wane, 
This marble shall remain, 

Their moinnnent, — 
And his who noldy gave 
This record of the brave, 
Their names in one to save, 

With glory blent. 

BENKDICTION, BY THE CHAPLAIN. 

At the close of the exercises the procession passed the Monu- 
ment, and each soldier deposited a sprig of evergreen upon its 
base, in memory of the deceased soldiers; thence marched to the 
Congregational Meeting House, where the procession was dis- 
missed, and the soldiers and all others present were invited to the 
Town House, to partake of a collation prepared by the ladies of 
Gorham. 



32 

CHIEF MARSHAL. 

GENERAL E. T. SMITH. 

AIDS. 
GEOEGE B. ElMEEY. E. H. F. SMITH. 

MARSHALS. 
SAMUEL R. CLEIMENT, SAMUEL DIXGLEY, 

STEPHEN HINKLEY, Jr., EDW. HASTY, 

EOSCOE G. HAEDING, GEOEGE W. CEOCKETT, 

J. O. WINSHIP, EUFUS A. FOGG. 



The following mottoes were tastefully made from evergi'een, 
and conspicuously arranged in the Meeting-House, which was 
otherwise, beautifully decorated for the occasion — truths, that 
eloquently speak the silent exj^erience and testimony of our 
fallen heroes : 

"®m lonorcb glcab— ®;i2xiT Sleep ITell." 

" ^t §rabe ilag Jail, §ut Cannot |idb." 

"|t |s Sbcet anb- Ijcnorabk ia Jlic for One's Countrg." 

" Mc |)a(j£ gle&nkD iljc gtgljt." 



May the spirit of such sentiments and the lessons of this 
occasion serve to strengthen the bond which unites us to our 
country, and may the memory of our brave men never die. 

JoHiS' A. Waterman, Daniel C. Emert, 

Stephen Hinkley, Samuel F. Bacon, 

Frederick Robie, Hugh D. McLellan, 

LoTHROP L. Files, Roscoe G. Harding, 

Jeremiah Parker, Job T. Sanford, 

Edward T. Smith, Albion P. Files, 

James Phinney, Humphrey Cousins, 

Edward Files, 3d, Charles Penfield, 

Charles Johnson, E, H. Vose, 
Eben Leach, 

__ Committee of Arrangements. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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